Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad

This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad is a perfect summer side dish salad to accompany any kind of food cooked on the grill! And I’m updating this favorite salad to have more tomatoes, cucumbers, Feta cheese, and parsley to go with the chickpeas, so it’s lower in carbs!

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This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad is a perfect summer side dish that’s so flavorful, partly due to the technique of marinating the garbanzo beans so they’re infused with the flavors of the dressing. And for me this is a favorite salad to make when it gets to be that time of year when nearly every meal needs to include some kind of salad with tomatoes and cucumbers.

But you might have noticed I’m doing a long term project to update some of my older salads with beans so they have more lower-carb ingredients in proportion to the beans, and this recipe recently got a very nice update! Now this flavorful salad has lots more tomatoes, cucumbers, Feta, and herbs to go with the garbanzo beans, which makes it into a salad that I hope might tempt more carb-conscious eaters to try the recipe!

I think this salad is perfect to take to a summer party or serve as a side dish when you’re inviting people over and cooking on the grill. And if you don’t eat dried beans much, check out the new nutritional info and see what you think.

(In case some of you were fans of the original version that was higher in carbs, you can still find that here.)

What ingredients do you need for this recipe?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

• canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
• white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link)
• extra virgin Olive Oil (affiliate link)
• Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another all-purpose seasoning blend
• diced tomatoes
• diced cucumbers
• chopped fresh parsley (or see other options for herbs)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• crumbled Feta

What balsamic vinegar did I use?

Please don’t skip the step of marinating the garbanzos in the balsamic vinegar dressing for that extra flavor boost, even if you have to marinate them for a shorter time. I’ve made this salad plenty of times with regular balsamic vinegar, but when I made it to update the recipe I used white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link), which kept the light color of the beans. If you have white balsamic vinegar I’d definitely use it for a prettier salad, but this salad will be tasty with any balsamic vinegar you have on hand!

What herbs will work for the Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad?

When I updated this recipe and got ready to take new photos I had parsley growing on the patio, so I used that and we loved it in the salad. But fresh basil would also be great here, so use whichever you prefer.

How many carbs are in the Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad?

The updated version of the salad with a lot of tomatoes, cucumbers, Feta cheese, and herbs and not too many beans has 12.6 net carbs per serving, and 8 grams of protein. I’m not tagging the recipe as low-carb, but I hope that’s low enough carbs for more people to try it.

How to make Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. The canned chickpeas need to be put in a colander, rinsed with cold water, and then drained well.
2. While beans drain, whisk together balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) or another seasoning of your choice. It’s important to use good quality extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
3. When beans are well drained, place them in a in Ziploc bag, add the marinade mixture, and let beans marinate in the refrigerator for 2 – 4 hours (or as long as you can).
4. When you’re ready to start chopping the tomatoes and cucumbers, let the marinated garbanzo beans drain, saving the reserved dressing. Taste the dressing for seasoning, adding more vinegar and/or lemon juice if you want a more strongly flavored dressing.
5. Use fresh, flavorful tomatoes and fresh small cucumbers. I used equal parts tomatoes and cucumbers, but you can vary the proportions a bit depending on what you have. If you use larger tomatoes that are juicy, I’d drain tomatoes in a colander.
6. I just chopped the parsley with a knife, but you could also use herb scissors if you have them.
7. Put tomatoes and cucumbers into a bowl and mix in drained garbanzos, chopped parsley (or basil), and reserved dressing.
8. Then season the salad with salt and pepper, add Feta and toss salad to gently mix.
9. Serve the Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad salad right away, with a little more Feta to add at the table if desired.

Make it a Meal:

Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad could be served as a side dish with any of these low-carb summer main dishes:

• Kalyn’s Souvlaki
• Grilled Chicken Thighs Recipe
• Marinated Beef Kabobs 
• Marinated Grilled Pork Sirloin Chops
• Grilled Sausage and Peppers

More Salads with Fresh Tomatoes:

If you’re a fan of salads with summer tomatoes, check out my great collection of 20 Summer Tomato Salads!

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Yield: 8 side-dish servings

Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad

Prep Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 2 hours 30 minutes

This Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad is a perfect side dish salad for something cooked on the grill, and I've updated the recipe to use more tomatoes, cucumbers, Feta, and herbs in proportion to the beans for a salad with fewer carbs.

Ingredients

• one 15.5 oz. can garbanzo beans
• 3 T balsamic vinegar (see notes)
• 1 T fresh-squeezed lemon juice
• 5 T good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp. Spike Seasoning (see notes)
• 2 cups diced tomatoes
• 2 cups diced cucumbers
• 1 cup chopped fresh parsley (see notes)
• salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 cup crumbled Feta, plus more to add at the table if desired

Instructions

1. Put garbanzo beans in colander and rinse very well until no more foam appears. (I like to remove any chickpea skins that come off when you’re rinsing the beans but that's totally optional.)
2. Let beans drain at least 15 minutes while you mix the dressing. (I sometimes pat them dry with a paper towel if I’m in a hurry and they seem quite wet.)
3. Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon juice, and Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) with a whisk.
4. Place beans in small Ziploc bag, pour dressing over and marinate beans in refrigerator 2 - 4 hours.
5. When you’re ready to prepare the salad, remove beans from refrigerator and drain them in a colander, reserving the dressing.
6. Taste dressing for seasoning, and add a bit more balsamic vinegar and/or lemon juice if you want a more strongly flavored dressing.
7. Dice tomatoes and if they’re extra juicy, put in colander to drain while you prepare other ingredients.
8. Cut cucumbers into fourths lengthwise, and then into pieces about 1/2 inch wide. (If cucumbers seem wet, pat dry with paper towel.)
9. If needed, put parsley or other herbs into salad spinner and wash, spin dry or dry with paper towels, and cut with herb scissors or coarsely chop using a chef’s knife.
10. Combine tomatoes, cucumbers, garbanzo beans and parsley in a bowl and toss with reserved salad dressing. (You may not want all the dressing if you prefer your salads more dry.)
11. Season salad with salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste, then gently mix in the crumbled Feta.
12. Serve right away, with more Feta to add at the table if desired.

Notes

I used white balsamic vinegar (affiliate link) for this recipe, but any good tasting balsamic vinegar will work. 

If you don't have Spike Seasoning (affiliate link) use any all-purpose seasoning blend. I would taste the dressing and add a bit more Spike if you like that flavor.

We loved this salad with parsley but fresh basil would also be delicious.

This recipe inspired by The South Beach Diet Quick and Easy Cookbook, with lots of adaptations by Kalyn.  

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 211Total Fat 13gSaturated Fat 3.9gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7.6gCholesterol 17mgSodium 654mgCarbohydrates 18gFiber 5.4gSugar 5.8gProtein 8g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
The Tomato Cucumber Chickpea Salad recipe has about 12.6 net carbs per serving (and 8 grams of protein), which might not be too much of a splurge for some low-carb eaters, although it’s too high in carbs for Keto. This recipe is suitable for any phase of the original South Beach Diet, since beans are considered to be a “good” carb for South Beach.

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use the Salads Index to find more salad ideas! Use the Diet Type Index to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for a side dish salad with cucumbers, tomatoes, chickpeas, and Feta was first posted in 2006! It was updated in 2018 with new photos, and was updated again into a version with fewer carbs and better photos in 2025.

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